McCongressman's Loss Is Oklahoma's Gain

For Oklahoma, there was a silver lining in Congress’ farcical, three-week-plus meandering that finally birthed a new speaker: Tulsa Rep. Kevin Hern wasn’t handed the gavel.

That might seem counterintuitive. And it would be … in normal times.

These are not normal times.

Having the House Speaker hail from your state once conveyed gravitas. Remember when Rhodes Scholar Carl Albert led the U.S. House?

McAlester’s Little Giant became an American Giant. Twice a heartbeat from the presidency. Known for selflessly steering Congress through a tumultuous period that included the resignations of a president and a vice president.

Now, Louisiana’s Mike Johnson ascends at an equally fraught moment: A House Republican caucus at war with itself [despite its unanimous vote for him]. And a former GOP president facing criminal charges for his alleged efforts to overturn the last election.

What’s the over/under on how many days Johnson lasts? It would be a monumental upset if he exceeded ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s 269 days – shortest in 140-plus years.

To Pelican Staters, best of luck. To Oklahomans, you are now free to exhale.

Why? Because accepting the speaker’s gavel in today’s toxic politics is akin to being handed the controls of a jetliner just seconds before it plows into a mountain. Unless Johnson finds some clever ways to escape his political baggage – election denier, uber-right hardliner – his tenure likely will end up simply reinforcing negative stereotypes of Louisiana and its, uh, colorful electoral history.

Oklahoma’s image already is murky. Other than college football, we’re mostly known for … what? Tragedy [Dust Bowl, tornadoes, the Oklahoma City bombing]? Cruelty [Killers of the Flower Moon, the Tulsa Race Massacre]? Poverty [scraping the bottom nationally in far too many socio-economic categories]?

To be sure, there is a heart-warming Oklahoma Standard, a generosity of spirit that always emerges in times of calamity. Neighbor caring for neighbor. But there’s also a less flattering flip side: a Legislature that all-too-often targets the rights of “others” – transgender Oklahomans are currently in the crosshairs – or seeks to impose a puritanical moral agenda favored by Christian nationalists.

In another era, Hern’s boot-strap biography might have been hailed as a Horatio Alger-esque, rags-to-riches American success story. Worked his way through college. Became an aerospace engineer. Then a successful McDonald’s franchisee. And finally, a United States congressman.

Alas, Hern’s hard-right politics wouldn’t be any more successful than Johnson’s will be at a time when bridge-building is of the essence.

Can you imagine the fun late-night comics and political opponents would have had with Hern – and by extension, Oklahoma? The state that sent a “McCongressman” to DC. During his quest for the House’s highest office, he even had bags of McDonald’s cheeseburgers delivered to his colleagues, along with a note promoting his business savvy.

More significantly [ominously?], Hern was among 126 GOP representatives that signed an amicus brief supporting a Texas lawsuit aimed at overturning the election results in four swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And on Jan. 6, 2021, he was one of 147 Republicans that voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election, embracing unsubstantiated claims it was stolen.

The very next day – the day after rioters ransacked the Capitol and threatened to hang Vice President Mike Pence – Hern still insisted he had a “duty to stand firm with the millions of Americans across the country who share deep and legitimate concerns about the integrity of our election system and the unconstitutional changes to the election laws in certain states during the presidential election.”

Deep, yes. Legitimate, no. In the real world, the 2020 election was the most investigated and litigated in American history. No evidence of widespread fraud was found.

Hern’s loss was Oklahoma’s gain.